Nokia Chief Executive Stephen Elop said Tuesday that his company expects to begin selling its first phones running Windows Phone later this year, before ramping up volume shipments in 2012.

Elop confirmed the plans at a telecom conference in Singapore, assuaging investor fears of lengthy delays, Reuters reports. "I have increased confidence that we will launch our first device based on the Windows platform later this year and we will ship our product in volume in 2012," he said.

During a Microsoft preview event last month for the "Mango" update to Windows Phone 7, a Nokia executive had confirmed that the company's first Windows Phone devices would run Mango, but hesitated to commit to an end-of-year deadline for the first devices.

At Tuesday's event, Elop also unveiled the N9 smartphone, which will run on the MeeGo platform, and is set to launch later this year.

Nokia first revealed the extensive partnership between the two companies in February. While charting out the companies plans to move from Symbian to Windows Phone, Elop said 2011 and 2012 would be "transition years."

On Monday, one analyst characterized Nokia's plunging market share in European as continuing to "implode." The world's largest handset maker saw its share of the smartphone market on its home continent cut in half from 40.6 percent a year ago to 20.2 percent in the March quarter. Another analyst believes Nokia's transitional period could result in big gains for Apple's iPhone and other competitors.

Apple and Samsung are expected to surpass Nokia in smartphone sales this quarter, with Samsung taking the top spot among global smartphone makers. Nokia has led the worldwide smartphone market since 1996.

I say good luck to them. I've been very impressed with what I've seen of Windows 7, and Nokia in the past have designed some very nice hardware, so it could be interesting.

Competition in the marketplace benefits us all. While I'm sure Apple will say otherwise, I suspect the fact that Android phones could be run entirely "over the air" has played a part in getting the iPhone able to run without a PC, and as an end user, I think that's great.

Frankly they are all copying off each other (though some more than others), so the more good ideas out there, the better we consumers do.

I think we have to remember that while software has never been their strong point, Nokia at least used to make some extremely attractive and desirable phones. Their new meego phones, while obviously dead in the water due to being on an orphaned platform, show that their physical design skills are still strong.

That phone screams Nokia in a lot of good ways. A bright attractive but non-obvious colour and a mixture of hard edges and soft curves that invite the hand. There's no way that you see this in somebody's hand across a room and think it's an iPhone. It's the first phone I've seen images of that comes close to the iPhone 4 as a design statement - I may have to troll over to a Nokia shop just to play with one because just looking at the picture I want to pick that device up.

I personally will never buy a windows smartphone, but the new platform does actually look quite attractive and distinct, so I think the combination will be alluring to people who are turned off by the stark functionism of the iPhone and its Android mini-mes.

For sure. On the whole there's no loyalty in the phone market. The millions of people with iPhones probably used to have a Motorola and before that a Nokia. So if Nokia can come out with another fashanable phone they will jump right up in market share again.

Nokia however do have a loyal following even now, it's a smaller part of the market but it's the only people that have been buying their phones the last few years. The fact their market share dropped this year also doesn't say much. Have they actually lost customers to the others, or have their loyal customers just not bought another phone due to waiting for WP7 on Nokia?

Oh no! this is just a stretched version of ipod Nano. Why don't they copy the back-side clip also???

The curved screen makes it look very different from that, also going off those pictures I'd say that the metal is painted rather than anodized - as discussed in another thread recently apple tend to shun surfce paints. Fundamentally any device that is 95% screen is going to look similar to any other device that is 95% screen.

I think we have to remember that while software has never been their strong point, Nokia at least used to make some extremely attractive and desirable phones. Their new meego phones, while obviously dead in the water due to being on an orphaned platform, show that their physical design skills are still strong.

That phone screams Nokia in a lot of good ways. A bright attractive but non-obvious colour and a mixture of hard edges and soft curves that invite the hand. There's no way that you see this in somebody's hand across a room and think it's an iPhone. It's the first phone I've seen images of that comes close to the iPhone 4 as a design statement - I may have to troll over to a Nokia shop just to play with one because just looking at the picture I want to pick that device up.

I personally will never buy a windows smartphone, but the new platform does actually look quite attractive and distinct, so I think the combination will be alluring to people who are turned off by the stark functionism of the iPhone and its Android mini-mes.

I'm not sold on the colors at all, but the black one looks very svelte, and the building materials are nothing short of formidable. Add to all that my extreme interest in the MeeGo platform in general (it'll run its own apps, anything built for Linux [apps will just need to be re-skinned, rather than recoded] and Android apps -- all while being a wholly customizable experience), and you have a really interesting thing going on here.

iCloud and iOS5 definitely have my attention. Everything about Apple is just extraordinarily reliable, and I'm not likely to leave the platform for that very reason (I'm in advertising and working on my master's-degree; things get a bit hectic 'round here). But there is something very enticing, exciting and fresh about MeeGo's approach. At the very least, this is a platform to watch.

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The curved screen makes it look very different from that, also going off those pictures I'd say that the metal is painted rather than anodized - as discussed in another thread recently apple tend to shun surfce paints. Fundamentally any device that is 95% screen is going to look similar to any other device that is 95% screen.

It's polycarbonate -- high quality mixed plastics -- and Gorilla Glass, not metal. But the plastics are mixed with the color through and through, meaning scratches will be nigh invisible (if they happen at all).

It's polycarbonate -- high quality mixed plastics -- and Gorilla Glass, not metal. But the plastics are mixed with the color through and through, meaning scratches will be nigh invisible (if they happen at all).

Ahh thanks, my point was just that this is a solid colour, which Apple has tended to avoid since, hmm, the Powerbook-Ti - and that was a grey. Actually I think the last time that Apple used a solid colour plastic was for the iBook - and those were from a much more saturated palette.

I must say that having seen this the rumours that Apple are going with a curved glass screen for the iPhone-5 start to seem more credible.

It's pretty obvious looking at the Nokia N9 video on Engadget that Nokia should be concentrating on Meego NOW rather than Windows Phone 7.5 in the future. The latter is creating uncertainty, never mind that most people think it's a stupid idea to lose control of your own platform as a tier one mobile phone manufacturer (relegating Nokia to being a HTC of this world rather than an Apple).

Sure Nokia, become Yet Another Hardware Designer rather than offering a symbiotic platform of your own OS and hardware. Stupid stupid long term business plan.

It seems that the ex-Microsoft Elop wants to shatter Nokia's market value so that Microsoft can go in, grab the patents and move into hardware itself for cheap (screwing other third party Windows Phone 7 partners in the process). The company is being gutted, the employees can see it, the investors can see it. Hence Nokia going for the patent licensing settlement with Apple for the money now and in the future - whilst losing more unique differentiating abilities in the process.

The curved screen makes it look very different from that, also going off those pictures I'd say that the metal is painted rather than anodized - as discussed in another thread recently apple tend to shun surfce paints. Fundamentally any device that is 95% screen is going to look similar to any other device that is 95% screen.

Even through 95% screen size and the box shape form factor, the product design can look very different. I am talking about the Look-and-feel, and the product identity. Every brand should have its own unique style, Logos, typeface, unified product details, finishings, materials, production method as well as UI. Take a look on LED TV, there are different look and feel on Philips, Samsung and Sony.

Even through 95% screen size and the box shape form factor, the product design can look very different. I am talking about the Look-and-feel, and the product identity. Every brand should have its own unique style, Logos, typeface, unified product details, finishings, materials, production method as well as UI. Take a look on LED TV, there are different look and feel on Philips, Samsung and Sony.

Actually what we're talking about here isn't 'Look and Feel' it's Trade Dress which is a significant distinction as Trade Dress has better legal protection.

My point was precisely that the N9 has a very different finish, material and form to the iPhone. It's certainly closer to the shape of the iPod-Nano-6 gen or the iPod-mini, but even there the curved screen makes it stand out.

There's no problem with devices sharing a few design details, Trade Dress becomes an issue when the similarities are so great that there is a substantial chance that consumers will mistake one product for another. Looking at the N9 I'd say there's little chance of people thinking it's an Apple product, well maybe the black edition but only if they didn't really know Apple.

Disagree. iPhone has about the same share it had in 2008. It putters along in the 20-somethings. The lows are getting higher, but the highs are hitting the ceiling at around 30%.

Android grew from nothing to over 50% of the market in the same time.

No, Apple has not capitalized on the misfortunes of the older platforms. Google has done it instead. Apple has a dedicated base of buyers, and if they can keep 30% of the market they will make huge profits. I'm not worried, but let's not pretend that Apple is getting sales from people who used to own Nokia or Blackberry. The data suggest that those folks overwhelmingly buy Android phones.

Not only are all phones from all vendors running Android OS less than double a single phone type from a .single vendor, the graph suggests that the iPhone increased in direct relation to Android's decrease simply by releasing a CDMA iPhone for Verizon, a model that is now a year old.

The Android OS conglomorate may have trouble getting past 50% marketshare plataeu now that they've taken pretty much all the relevant share from RiM, MS and Nokia. Vendors using Android surely aren't hurting Apple's iPhone

PS: What's not being pointed out is that about 30% of all smartphones are iPhones. That's a lot for one vendor selling a premium handset.

Dick Applebaum on whether the iPad is a personal computer: "BTW, I am posting this from my iPad pc while sitting on the throne... personal enough for you?"

Disagree. iPhone has about the same share it had in 2008. It putters along in the 20-somethings. The lows are getting higher, but the highs are hitting the ceiling at around 30%.

Android grew from nothing to over 50% of the market in the same time.

No, Apple has not capitalized on the misfortunes of the older platforms. Google has done it instead. Apple has a dedicated base of buyers, and if they can keep 30% of the market they will make huge profits. I'm not worried, but let's not pretend that Apple is getting sales from people who used to own Nokia or Blackberry. The data suggest that those folks overwhelmingly buy Android phones.

You seem to be assuming that the market for smartphones is static and not growing, while all other market indicators show exactly the opposite:

From mashable

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The worldwide smartphone market has grown 79.7% year-over-year, with smartphone vendors shipping a total of 99.6 million units in in the first quarter of 2011, market research firm IDC reports.

Although Nokia’s smartphone shipments have grown from 21.5 million units to 24.2 million, its competitors have been growing much faster. Samsung’s market share increased from 4.3% to 10.8%, while HTC has grown from 4.9% to 8.9%. Samsung’s growth has been particularly impressive, with shipments increasing 350% — from 2.4 to 10.8 million units.

Apple is also showing steady growth, having captured an 18.7% market share in Q1 2011, compared to 15.7% in the same period last year. Research in Motion is holding third place overall with a 14% market share, but, like Nokia, it’s been growing much slower than everyone else, having increased shipments from 10.6 million units to 13.9 million in Q1 2011.

The entire market is growing and even Nokia and RIM show growth in the segment, but much flatter than Android and iOS smartphones. That erosion of growth is directly attributable to both Android and iOS sales. But the highest activity for Android came at the expense of WinMo coupled with driving sales into the feature phone segment - a majority of the actual "growth" part of the market.

You need to let go of the whole "fanbase" concept of Apple's product penetration - that there is this mysterious mass of Apple loyalists who are waiting for the next product to roll out - Apple is growing worldwide consumer marketshare across most of their product lines quarter over quarter and year over year. Denial may be comforting for you, but it does not reflect reality.

If you are going to insist on being an ass, at least demonstrate the intelligence to be a smart one

Really? So if there were no Android phones, Apple would not be selling more iPhones? Please!!! Your embarrassing yourself.

Actually that's probably true, or at least it wouldn't be selling many more. Apple is growing 100% YoY, which means it is pushing up hard against supply constraints and Apple has to negotiate with carriers which takes time.

Android makers mostly converted their existing capacity over and already had relationships with carriers so their growth was in fact just cannibalization of their own sales.

Actually that's probably true, or at least it wouldn't be selling many more. Apple is growing 100% YoY, which means it is pushing up hard against supply constraints and Apple has to negotiate with carriers which takes time.

Android makers mostly converted their existing capacity over and already had relationships with carriers so their growth was in fact just cannibalization of their own sales.

Besides Apple already pushing their production to the brink if Android didn't exist there would be some other "me too" player taking up the slag of the anti-Apple folks.

Dick Applebaum on whether the iPad is a personal computer: "BTW, I am posting this from my iPad pc while sitting on the throne... personal enough for you?"

I say good luck to them. I've been very impressed with what I've seen of Windows 7, and Nokia in the past have designed some very nice hardware, so it could be interesting.

Competition in the marketplace benefits us all. While I'm sure Apple will say otherwise, I suspect the fact that Android phones could be run entirely "over the air" has played a part in getting the iPhone able to run without a PC, and as an end user, I think that's great.

Frankly they are all copying off each other (though some more than others), so the more good ideas out there, the better we consumers do.

Nice concise post, Paul. I couldn't agree more with your 2nd & 3rd paragraphs. No comment on the first as I haven't looked at W7.

Apparently the bad product karma has finally caught up with them. There is a website http://wptattletale.com/ set up by a microserf who is angry and disappointed that phone retailers direct customers away from WP7 and onto iOS/Android. The website is there so that stores that carry WP7 phones can be reviewed and made to shape up.

He's shocked that this wonderful product is being treated so badly, shocked!

The funniest thing about the whole site? It doesn't actually work

Is there a word for a cocktail consisting of equal parts irony and schadenfreude?

Actually what we're talking about here isn't 'Look and Feel' it's Trade Dress which is a significant distinction as Trade Dress has better legal protection.

My point was precisely that the N9 has a very different finish, material and form to the iPhone. It's certainly closer to the shape of the iPod-Nano-6 gen or the iPod-mini, but even there the curved screen makes it stand out.

There's no problem with devices sharing a few design details, Trade Dress becomes an issue when the similarities are so great that there is a substantial chance that consumers will mistake one product for another. Looking at the N9 I'd say there's little chance of people thinking it's an Apple product, well maybe the black edition but only if they didn't really know Apple.

It's probably not going to be confused for an iPod nano very often. But still, a good amount of the design language appear to be lifted from the previous nano, I can see people thinking it's an Apple product, even if it's not going to be mistaken for the product that "inspired" the design.

It's probably not going to be confused for an iPod nano very often. But still, a good amount of the design language appear to be lifted from the previous nano,

You mean the 5th gen? Hmm, only very vaguely - flat with rounded edges versus completely elliptical is pretty different at least to me. So yes it's basic shape is that of a 6th gen, but aside from the flat ends it doesn't remotely resemble a 5th gen.

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I can see people thinking it's an Apple product, even if it's not going to be mistaken for the product that "inspired" the design.

I really can't because the two things that dominate the look are the solid colour and the protruding curved screen - one of which Apple hasn't done in a decade and the other it hasn't done at all. I would agree that it's inspired by Apple in some elements, but it's definitely not a samsung style slavish copy.